Code Blue
by LGCoffeeAddict
Summary: Addison AU fic. This was originally a creative essay I wrote for my English class, but it can switched into a Grey's Anatomy fic. I changed a lot in this so it fit the show. Addison never married Derek, but his brother who abused her. MotherDaughter stuff


Code Blue

By GiGi

**A/N: This was originally a creative essay I wrote for my English class, but it can easily switched into a Grey's Anatomy fic. The original characters' names were Adrina, Jason, and Erica Lily Mayes but I have changed them to Addy (short for Addison), Jason, and Erica Lily Shepherd. Jason and Erica Lily are completely made up! Jason is Derek's brother, FYI. I changed this a lot so it could fit the show. AU. I hope you like it!  
**

** Addison is married to Jason and has a daughter, Erica Lily.  
**

Addy fell to the ground, seeing nothing but spots, the sting from Jason's slap still burning on her bright red cheek. She let out a cry as Jason picked her up and slapped her again on the other cheek. Her cry seemed to wake him up from his rage but the damage was done. Addy would soon be covered in bruises, head to toe, and she would have to, once again, wear long sleeves, long pants, and tons of make-up for weeks until she healed. She knew of his tantrums when she married him, and she knew he couldn't help it. It was for this reason he thought it best not to marry her, despite the fact that he loved her, but that just made her want him more. They were young when they got married, and many people didn't expect their marriage to last. Addy really wanted her marriage to last, and it had for sixteen years, but her husband's behavior had gotten steadily worse and she was almost at the breaking point.

At first, it wasn't too bad. Jason would only lose himself a few times a year, and the injuries she received were minimal and healed quickly. The next year, when she found out she was pregnant, Jason was overjoyed but Addy knew he was worried about the baby. Would his child inherit his problem? Would he or she grow up following in Jason's footsteps, beating the mother, the wife, and everyone else every single time a blackout occurred? That was the worst thing about Jason's episodes; he had no idea what he was doing until something woke him up. Jason didn't want his child growing up the same way he did, so he hoped and prayed that his problem wasn't going to affect his baby. He was careful not to hurt Addy in any way, shape, or form for that whole year on the slightest chance that may make a difference on the developing fetus. He tried to get help for his tantrums but the most anyone could do was prescribe medicines to help prevent them, and they didn't always work. The times they didn't work, his rages were twice as bad, twice as painful, and twice as scary. The year following the birth of Erica Lily was one of the hardest years for Addy.

Addy now lay huddled on the floor, trembling and sobbing. She had neither the strength nor the willpower to get up onto the bed. All she could do was lean against it and wince as the blankets touched her bruised back. She was vaguely aware that she was bleeding, but she couldn't tell from where. It didn't register that she lost too much blood, so much that she started to feel lightheaded, and by the time Erica Lily discovered her mother and screamed for help, she had passed out.

Jason disappeared once he woke up. Some say he went to the bridge overlooking the lake and just sat there for hours, before diving in for a swim and hitting his head on a rock. Others say he was so distracted that a car hit him as he crossed the street. Either way, he ended up at the hospital with a severe head injury and a collapsed lung.

As Jason was wheeled into the emergency room, Addy was being carried into an ambulance, on her way to Seattle Grace, with her fifteen year old daughter holding her hand the entire way. Erica Lily could barely make out her mother she was crying so hard. She just held her hand throughout the bumpy ride and talked to her mother to distract her from the searing pain going up her back. Erica talked about simple things. She described the ambulance they were in, how her school day went, the cute boy she liked, and tried as hard as she could to keep the worry from her voice. Addy was scared enough as it was and she didn't need her daughter to burden her with worries. At least, that's what Erica thought.

Addy was really very grateful to her daughter for being with her and talking to her. She needed it. Addy didn't want to concentrate on her bruises or her bloody clothing. She didn't want to concentrate on shooting pain in her ankle or the difficulty of lifting her right arm. She really didn't want to concentrate on the hospital. It was too scary to think that her life could change forever—or end—because of what happens to her in the hospital. She was more than happy to marvel at how mature Erica Lily's become. A year ago, Erica wouldn't have been able to hold herself together so well. She would have been doing much more than crying. She made her mother proud.

As soon as they reached the hospital, doctors swarmed around Addy and started asking Erica and the paramedics Addy's age, weight, name, and what happened. Erica, overwhelmed by the doctors' bombarding her with questions, tried to answer some, but she felt too suffocated. After extricating herself from the group, she started talking.

"You should know her name," Erica Lily started in a small voice. "Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd!" Nobody was listening to her. They asked the questions but left before getting the answers. The only thing more frustrating than that was the fact that they were just standing there. They weren't trying to save her mother. Why weren't they doing anything? Were they just going to let her die?

"Who are you?" a kind looking doctor inquired when he turned around and saw the teenage girl standing still and crying.

"That's Erica Lily Montgomery-Shepherd. She's my niece." Erica stares at Derek, who just turned around and helped her. "She's also Addison's daughter," Derek declares, nodding toward the woman on the gurney. Erica wiped her tears away. She had to be strong. For her mother.

"Shepherd, huh?"

"Why?" Erica's strength evaporated.

"What's your father's name? It's not Jason Shepherd, is it?" The doctor had an apprehensive expression on his face now, and Derek's face snapped to look at his fellow doctor, making Erica more and more nervous.

"My father's name?" The doctor nodded. "I-It is..." Erica Lily trailed off when she saw his face twist in anguish. "What? What's wrong?"

"We have a Jason Shepherd in surgery right now."

"What?!" Derek's eyes went wide with horror. "My brother's in surgery right now? Why didn't I know about this?" He sank down onto the ground, two waterfalls rushing down his face. "What happened?"

"He has severe brain trauma and a collapsed lung and contusions all over."

"Brain trauma? Why wasn't I paged?" Derek's eyes were indignant now. For God's sake, he was the top neurosurgeon in the country!

"Family doesn't work on family. You know that."

Erica was more in shock. She had to do something, so she went over to Derek, moved his hands, and sat on his lap, and they silently sobbed together. This was too much for a teenager to handle in one day. She needed help. She sent a watery look toward the doctor, who answered her silent question.

"As I said, he's in surgery right now, so you can't see him yet. By the time he gets out, your mother will have probably been taken into surgery. Some of her wounds are very deep." The doctor took on a concerned tone as he glanced back at Addy, but he tried to stay encouraging. "Of course, we may not need to operate if she doesn't have major internal bleeding or something of the sort. We won't know until we examine her." As an afterthought, he said, "My name is Dr. Tony Shipman. I'll send for you once we have an idea of what we'll need to do for your mother, so don't be alarmed if a nurse tells you Dr. Shipman needs to see you." Tony smiled, still trying to comfort Erica Lily to no avail. "Derek, stay with Erica today. You shouldn't be working."

The doctors finally wheeled her mother off and Erica and Derek were left alone, standing in an unfamiliar street streaked with as many skid marks as tear stains streaking their faces. Now what were they supposed to do? Erica had to do something. She couldn't just wait around and worry about her parents' lives. Horrified, Erica pushed away the thought. The fact that in a few hours she would find out whether or not she was an orphan sent shivers down her spine and more tears down her face as she left Derek and ran into the hospital.

Meanwhile, Dr. Shipman was worrying about the teenager as he wheeled Addison to a bed, and he thought back to when they were putting Jason under the anesthesia. With much difficulty, Jason had instructed to "fi—find Addison...and...daughter…tell them…" He slept before he said what to tell the girls when he found them. _I just hope telling his family he was in surgery was what he meant,_ Tony thought. However, he didn't have too much time to mull on Jason because Addy was going down, and she was going down fast. "Code blue! Get the defibrillator in here NOW!"

Now that she was in the hospital, Erica was clueless as to what to do or where to go. Nothing seemed to calm her or soothe her worries. Her stomach kept twisting into so many knots she felt as if it were the Gordian knot. She had to sit down or she just might be sick. Stumbling toward an empty bench, Erica practically fell on it and rested her head in her hands. She felt Derek sit next to her.

Derek needed something to take his mind off of his brother and sister-in-law, and at that moment, that something came running: Meredith Grey. She stopped in front of him and wiped away his tears. "I'm so sorry," was all she said and she kissed him. That was their first kiss since the first time they met. She left after that, motioning to take care of Erica.

"Erica..." Derek started. "I just want you to know, if worst comes to worst and your parents--my brother and my sister-in-law--both die, I'll be your guardian, and try my hardest not to let anything bad happen to you. Okay?" Erica simply nodded.

This couldn't be happening. There were so many things Erica was still confused about, like why her mom was hurt so much and why her father got hurt on the same day. She was sure the two were connected, but she couldn't figure out how. She had no idea Jason was the one who hurt her mother or that he'd been abusing Addy her entire lifetime.

"Excuse me." Erica looked up to see a worried nurse peering down at her. "Are you Erica Lily?" Unable to speak, she simply nods, trying to stop her very own Trail of Tears. "I'm afraid that Dr. Shipman can't talk to you right now."

"Why…not?" She asked in a meek voice, her bright blue eyes full with anxiety.

"Your mother's heart stopped—" the nurse started. The worst had happened.

"No..." Derek sighed in defeat, looking down at his niece.

"Wha…? No!" Those bright blue eyes welled up once again spilling out faster than ever. Erica broke down, her entire body shaking with every sob. "This _can't_ happen. It just _can't_!" She curled up in a fetal position and lay down on Derek's lap, crying her heart out.

"Honey, open your eyes…" The nurse had knelt down in front of Erica Lily, her voice filled with concern. Erica violently shook her head, wailing incoherent things into her knees. Her knuckles were white from clutching herself so hard. "You didn't let me finish. There was more to what I had to tell you." Erica's eyes shot open.

"Wh-what else was there to say?" Erica whimpered quietly. "That my father died as well?" _Please let that not be it!_ Derek prayed.

"No…Dr. Shipman was able to get her heart pumping again."

"Really?" A small glint of hope appeared in Erica's eyes as she loosened her grip on her knees. "You're not just saying that to get me to stop crying?"

"Trust me. I'm not just saying it. She has severe internal bleeding, however, and she's been taken into surgery already. This is why Dr. Shipman couldn't talk to you. Speaking of which, Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Shipman needs you helping him. As for your father, he's still in surgery as far as I know." The nurse helped Erica up. "I assured him I would take care of you."

"Why?"

"Because when I was about your age, I lost my mother in a train wreck, and I was completely alone. My father was away on business. I don't want you to be alone." She gave Erica's hand a small squeeze at those last words.

Erica smiled at the gesture, but there was one more thing she wanted to know. "What's your name?"

Erica and the nurse, Anna, spent the next few weeks at the hospital, waiting for Addy and Jason to recover. Both of Erica's parents survived their surgeries, but the recovery still held many risks. They were not completely stable and had to live off life support for two weeks. I have yet to discover whether or not Jason lived after the surgery, but I do have one last piece of information concerning Addy:

Addy opened her eyes at last, having just come out of surgery, to see her daughter's beautiful face smiling over her. "You're awake!" Relief washed over Erica's features.

Slowly, Addy raised her hand to Erica Lily's cheek, noticing her red eyes and flushed cheeks. "You've been crying," she spoke softly. Her daughter nodded her head and brought her hand up to hold Addy's. Erica lay down on the bed and cuddled up with her, sobbing.

"I was so scared I was going to lose you!" she cried into her mother's shoulder.

Wrapping her arms around her daughter, Addy slowly rocked Erica back and forth. "Shh…Don't worry, Mommy's here…"


End file.
